Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Celebrating Religious Freedom

Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, the date the last slaves found out that they were emancipated in Galveston, Texas. Even though President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, word did not travel to Texas for two and a half more years. Sometimes called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, African Americans across the country observe Juneteenth as a holiday that represents freedom from oppression. But oppression takes many forms and many Americans still aren’t free.

The Root published blogs about prisons and modern day slavery as examples of continued oppression. In addition to these physical and emotional forms of oppression, we should also acknowledge how the religious oppression that occurred during slavery still permeates many communities today.
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